Car dependence stands at odds with new housing

In Columbus, Georgia, there’s another attempt to rezone for more multifamily town homes, and it’s meeting a familiar foe: the public’s fear of car traffic. In a city council meeting this week, residents and officials both cited increased traffic in their arguments against rezoning an area from 83 single-family homes into 93 homes, 78 townhomes plus 15 larger lots.

The Ledger-Enquirer has the story here.

Columbus residents spoke against a rezoning request during Tuesday’s Columbus Council meeting, arguing the proposed development off Veterans Parkway would exacerbate traffic problems.

“We’ve met with Mr. Ericson and talked several times, trying to work out another traffic outlet to relieve the stress on this community,” [Mayor Pro Tem Gary] Allen said. “So far, he has not been able to do that, and I said I cannot support this going forward unless you can get another outlet.”

The debate isn’t only about traffic. Some people are concerned that this is just a big developer trying to make more money from the community. Some people say that townhomes don’t belong in the area. There’s also an argument that the traffic increase won’t be as bad as people fear anyway.

But in the big picture, this traffic debate is another episode in a recurring narrative. Personal vehicles are virtually required for anyone living in most American cities, including Columbus. When more people move into a neighborhood, the number of cars on the road goes up, and the roads get more crowded. Car infrastructure isn’t efficient, and it doesn’t scale evenly with population growth. Those fundamental problems are exacerbated by the pervasive suburban-style planning where cars are mostly funneled into large arterial roads rather than dispersed evenly across a city grid.

Unless we want car dependence to remain the bottleneck for population growth, cities need to invest in diverse, efficient mobility infrastructure. If the land in the proposal had walkable access to transit and shopping, if cars were optional rather than required, then the debate over this development could focus on its other aspects. But as long as we expect every new resident to drive a car daily, then new housing will keep facing this problem again and again.